New laws designed to better protect animals might be counter-productive and force farmers to feed hungry wild rabbits, Neil Parish has said.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove has published a draft bill that would enshrine animal sentience into UK law post- Brexit and introduce jail sentences of up to five years for animal abusers.

But Mr Parish, who is the MP for Tiverton and Honiton, as well as the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee chairman, has said that the bill should go back to the drawing board as the full implications of the bill have not been considered.

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And speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Parish agreed with questions that there was the potential for the bill to force farmers to feed wild rabbits if they were hungry.

He said: “There may well be that potential as part of the bill, and the legal advice that we were given that this bill is too loosely drafted. Instead of parliament making the laws, much will be ended up with judicial reviews in the courts.”

Neil Parish MP

Clause 1 of the Bill surrounds the recognition of animal sentience. As strong advocates of the need for a five-year maximum sentence for animal cruelty, EFRA worry that the "vagueness and ambiguity" of the purpose and meaning of Clause 1 will "impede and delay" the introduction of this measure.

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Mr Parish said that the committee were absolutely in favour of getting the strongest possible sentences for animal welfare offences, but said that the bill needed to be re-drafted in a tighter way.

The report from the EFRA committee says that: “Animals deserve better than to be treated in a cavalier fashion yet the impression given to us is one of haste. It appears that this draft Bill has been presented to the public - and Parliament - in a far from finished state.”

A wild rabbit

Mr Parish added: “The Bill has been rushed and the legislation has suffered as a result”, Mr Parish explained.

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“The UK urgently needs a new law focused on animal sentience but this law must be properly thought through and worked out. This legislation is not that.

“It is important that the Government considers the full implications of a bill before publishing it. It has failed to do so in this case. The bill has been rushed and the legislation has suffered as a result.

“I am strongly in favour of the increased sentencing provisions in the Bill, but if the UK wants to set a ‘gold standard’ in animal welfare then the punitive measures for crimes against animals must include a greater range of offences.

“The UK urgently needs a new law focused on animal sentience but this law must be properly thought through and worked out. This legislation is not that.”

Neil Parish

The draft Animal Welfare bill says the Government “must have regard to the welfare needs of animals as sentient beings in formulating and implementing government policy.